Constance Eaton Hamilton (1862–1945) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

government official and activist. After activism supporting refugees and women in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, she moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and continued to support causes such as

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

, becoming president of the Equal Franchise League of Toronto. She was elected for a one-year term on the

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The cur ...

in the 1920 elections, becoming the first female member of

and the first woman in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

to hold elected office at either the federal, provincial, or municipal level. After two terms she resigned to continue her work campaigning for immigrant settlement and refugee issues, and for equal rights. In 1979, the Toronto city council established the Constance E. Hamilton Award on the Status of Women.

Early life and education

She was born in

Yorkshire, England Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

in 1862 to Dr George Fowler Bodington (1829-1902) and Caroline Mary Eaton (1825-1873). Early she studied with private tutors. Fluent in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, she attended the

Conservatory of Music A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

Leipzig, Germany Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's L ...

and became a skilled pianist. She also worked as a part-time farmer for parts of her early life. Hamilton immigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

with her family in 1887 and settled in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. The following year she met and married Lauchlan Hamilton, an older businessman.

Career

Civic activities in Winnipeg and Toronto

In 1888 she and her husband moved to

, when her husband was transferred there as senior

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

land commissioner. During her time in Winnipeg, she was one of the six women who founded the Women's Musical Club of Winnipeg, and served as the first president when it was formally organized in 1899. She also used her German to assist new immigrants to the city. She and her husband moved to

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

in 1899, when the city's population was 200,000. A supporter of

, she became president of the Equal Franchise League of Toronto and also the National Suffrage Organization. With a passion described as focusing on the broad themes of "

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

, agriculture and politics," she chaired the Toronto branch of the National Refugee Committee and would lead the National Council of Women's agriculture committee. She founded Toronto's

Bach Society The Bach Society was a musical organization in London from 1849 to 1870. Its primary goals, as stated in its prospectus, were (1) to collect the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, both printed and in manuscript, and all works related to him, his famil ...

. She was a volunteer for Big Sisters and

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

, and a writer, arts patron, linguist, and social advocate.

Elected office in Toronto in 1920

In 1919, women obtained the right to run for elected office in Ontario. Previously married women had been barred, by law, from doing so. The elective office of public school trustee was open to Ontario widows and unmarried women who owned property from about 1884, although the first female trustees to be elected in Toronto were in 1892. Hamilton ran for Toronto city council for a one-year term in 1920, in the first year that women over 21 could vote. Hamilton fought the race over eight other male opponents, for one of three spots in Ward 3, "a long, narrow downtown ward, stretching from the waterfront north almost to St. Clair Ave., and taking in King, Front, Church, Yonge and Bay streets." Her platform was a mix of social and practical concerns, including a stronger police force and more library funding. When she won the race, she became the first woman in Ontario to hold elected office at either the federal, provincial, or municipal level. Her swearing in ceremony received little press. In office, she championed issues such as a raise in minimum wage, health initiatives, for more women judges, and urged reforms for hiring of domestic workers, also championing a maximum 10-hour workday.

Second term and retirement

She was re-elected for another one-year term in 1921. After two terms in office she resigned for reasons that "remain a mystery." According to the city of Toronto, she resigned so that she could continue to campaign for immigrant settlement and refugee issues, and for equal rights. After politics, much of her time went into finding employment for new refugees in Toronto, and she also served on the board of ''

Woman's Century ''Woman's Century'' was the official organ of the National Council of Women of Canada (NCWC), published in Toronto between 1913 and 1921. The magazine was relatively conservative, and supported World War I, but stood up for women's rights and univ ...

'', a magazine.

Personal life and legacy

Hamilton married

land commissioner and civil engineer Lauchlan Alexander Hamilton (1852-1941), who was also Vancouver City Alderman and designed the

Coat of arms of Vancouver The coat of arms of Vancouver was granted by the College of Arms on 31 March 1969. History The city of Vancouver assumed its first municipal seal upon incorporation in 1886. Designed by City Alderman Lauchlan Hamilton, it was pictorial in natu ...

. They did not have any children, but Lauchlan had a daughter (Isabella) from his marriage to Isabella Hamilton (1858?-1888). Her husband died in 1941 and she died in 1945. She and her husband lived in Toronto at 30 Saint Joseph Street, in a "sparsely furnished old house just north of

Wellesley Street Wellesley may refer to: * People Dukes of Wellington * Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769–1852), British soldier, statesman, and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom * Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington (1807–1884), Briti ...

" with a "scruffy, homey and lived-in look." The

met in the drawing room, and friend later said that Hamilton "filled the rackety old house with a succession of lame dogs and tame cats; refugee cellists from

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

; Englishmen with a gift of the gab who were down on their luck; unemployed Italian waiters; poverty stricken painters; young clergymen whose faith had been shaken." It also became a "magnet" for those in the literary, cultural, and

radio broadcasting Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

worlds of Toronto. She also maintained a summer home at

Lorne Park Lorne Park is a suburban residential neighbourhood located in southwestern Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, that was first established as a resort. History Lorne Park shares a common history with Clarkson. Before the arrival of the Europeans, all ...

west of Toronto for "indigent artists and musicians" with a dozen "ramshackle" cottages on a large property with pine trees. She would cook for the collection of artists herself, never charging money for the meals. In 1979, city council established the Constance E. Hamilton Award on the Status of Women, to be awarded to a resident of Toronto whose actions have "had a significant impact on securing equitable treatment for women in Toronto, either socially, economically or culturally." The women members of Toronto City Council select the recipient, or multiple recipients.

Election results

1920 Toronto municipal election Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 1, 1920. Mayor Tommy Church was elected to his sixth consecutive term in office. The most notable feature of the election was Constance Hamilton winning a seat in Ward 3. She be ...

- Ward 3 (

Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

and The Ward) :F.W. Johnston (incumbent) - 1,835 :Alfred Burgess - 1,825 :Constance Hamilton - 1,626 :Charles W. Mugridge (incumbent) - 1,388 :George Rose - 1,369 :John W. Beatty - 1,284 :William Harper - 945 :Harry Winberg - 943 :William Stevenson - 383 *

1921 Toronto municipal election Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 1, 1921. Mayor Tommy Church was elected to an unprecedented seventh consecutive term in office. Toronto mayor Church had first been elected mayor in 1915 and had been reelected ...

- Ward 3 (

and The Ward) :Alfred Burgess (incumbent) - 2,685 :George Rose - 1,867 :Constance Hamilton (incumbent) - 1,815 :F.W. Johnston (incumbent) - 1,614 :C.A. Reed - 1,608 :Aubrey Bond - 1,604 :Andrew Carrick - 1,182 :Robert Morse - 211